The Free Rider

Tanya patiently sat at the bar, nursing a mocktail. She appeared to be a rather odd addition to the otherwise male infested bar. A few other ladies who were present, were all accompanied by men. Naturally, Tanya attracted a lot of undiluted attention, in the form of shamelessly obvious stares from a horde of tables, where inebriated men were down a drink too many. A slew of men came and sat beside her, flirted in their slurring speech, but none of them caught her fancy. She politely turned them down, one after the other till almost everyone in the bar knew that she was no easy catch. They weren’t the right fit for her.

Not rich enough, she thought.

It was already 9 p.m. and she’d lost all hope to get her man. As she disappointedly shook her head looking at the time on her watch, Samar entered the bar. Dressed casually in a Ralph Lauren T-shirt he strode quickly, as if in a hurry. Tanya immediately noticed him. Medium height, athletic built, chiseled features and an innocence about him that quickly hooked Tanya onto him.

As he neared the bar, he passed a fleeting glance over Tanya and then seated himself at the bar, three seats away from her. That’s strange, Tanya thought. Not giving a second look to Tanya was bordering on being rude to her; she was so used to it. Even a third was normal and constant staring was also what she was completely accustomed to. But such indifference to her presence ? It had never happened.

As Tanya sat mildly incensed, eyeing Samar with her peripheral vision, she saw him order his drink. While the bartender got busy preparing the icy concoction, Samar fiddled with his gleaming iPhone. The glint from his watch then caught Tanya’s attention. Rich, good looking and a bloody snob. Perfect.

It was already late and Samar seemed the best bet for the night, thought Tanya.

As she got up and shifted two places to her right, a multitude of eyeballs literally assaulted her body. She waited for him to initiate conversation and in the meanwhile ordered scotch. To her irritation, he didn’t pay her any heed whatsoever. She found her temper rising.

“Hey”, she said not wanting to waste any more time.

Visibly startled, he looked to his left to find her. He had been too busy with something on his gadget.

“What is it that you’re drinking? Looks funny” she asked, trying to make small talk.

“It’s a long island ice tea. With so much ice in it, it sure does look funny. What are you having?” he asked, seemingly ignorant to her loud demand of a scotch only a couple of minutes back.

“Good ole black label”, she winked as she told him.

“That’s nice.”

“So? what are you doing here all alone in this bar, where every man is looking at you with wantonly eyes? Waiting for someone?” He asked with the same charming half smile beaming across his face.

“Oh! I think he’s here” She winked again, more mischievously this time. She turned to the barman exposing Samar to her long, flowing hair and a side view of her buxom figure.

“I’m so drunk” she mumbled loud enough for Samar to hear.

It didn’t take long or any sort of intellectual discussion for Samar and Tanya to find them in Samar’s Honda CRV.

“Your place or mine?” he asked with a confidence Tanya admired.

“Let’s go to a nearby hotel, houses I do not like” she said as she planted a passionate kiss on Samar’s lips.

Without a word Samar put the vehicle in gear and winded to the nearest hotel.

“Taj! Umm I like”, she remarked, resting her head on Samar’s broad shoulders, letting him inhale her womanly smell mixed generously with the scent of her perfume.

He smiled back.

They got out as he handed over the key to the valet for parking. She waited for him in the foyer of the hotel, where she envied all the beautiful accessories she wished someday her house would be adorned with. Her gaze was fixed on a lustrous chandelier, when she found Samar standing next to her.

“Let’s go ma’am,” he said.

“Yeah let’s go” she smiled and entwined her elbow in his.

The attraction they felt towards each other was extreme, which manifested itself in the lightning speed with which they managed to disrobe each other.

Not many words were spoken and passionate love making ensued. She found Samar to be an excellent lover as she felt waves of ecstasy run up her body every time they made love.

Stick to the job, she reminded herself.

Exhausted after lovemaking, Samar ordered a sumptuous spread of continental and Chinese food. Tanya, though, was the least bit interested in food, as she knew that she wasn’t going to eat it anyway.

iPhone, cash, debit cards, credit cards and if she was quick enough with the valet, may be the car. Summed up to be a fortune, Tanya quickly calculated.

“I need a bath”, she said while they sat cuddling in the bed waiting for food.

“And so do you, I think” she said naughtily.

“Ok I’m game” Samar grinned as he got up.

“No Mr. Horny, I like my baths alone” she said impishly and purposefully cat walked to the bathroom assuring his gaze was fixed at her.

She quickly bathed, admiring the subtlety with which she was pulling this off. She knew time would not be her luxury once Samar went in, so she was ready for the final act. She slipped into her pair of jeans and her tank top and came out.

Tanya looked around the room, clueless. Neither the prey nor his expensive accessories were to be found.

All she could see was his purse. She jumped to get hold of the purse. As she picked up the purse, there was a small piece of paper with something scribbled across it.

?Had been visiting the bar for three months now, to meet you. Oh how proud would my friend be today. Don’t worry you robbed him enough to pay for the food and the hotel rent. As for me I am a man of principle. Please find enclosed Rs 500/- which I feel you actually deserve for I am no free rider. Adios.’

Ten floors down, Samar was already seated in his car, revving the engine, with an inflated ego and a satiated libido, dialing a call to Akash, his friend.

.., wrote:
Further to Ravi's comment, one way the author could have established the hooker status would be through Samar's pov in the end, after he had completed the disappearing act. That way, Samar would have initially looked like a creep, taking an innocent girl for a ride, and the last para, with this revelation, could have provided a sudden unexpected twist in the tale.

.., wrote:
Great narration, good pace, but the introduction of a friend in the end threw me off. The note he leaves isn't congruent in pace or style with the rest of the story somehow. Maybe you can make it shorter and snappier?

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